Every resident of a former network of children's homes in Croydon and elsewhere in south London is set to receive a share of a £100 million council compensation pot after being put at risk of abuse.

Lambeth Council, which managed Shirley Oaks, announced the new redress scheme to compensate those who suffered sexual, physical and psychological abuse at its homes between the 1930s and 1990s on December 18.

The local authority initially pledged £40 million compensation after a report from ex-residents outlining abuse on an "industrial scale" was published in December 2016, but has since increased this sum after getting permission to borrow £100 million from the Government.

Each former resident will be entitled to a maximum of £125,000, as well as a written letter of apology and counselling sessions, according to a draft proposal for the scheme.

The proposal additionally states that each successful applicant will be given the chance meet a senior council representative so they "can feel that they have been heard and acknowledged".

The council estimates that around 3,000 people will apply for compensation and that each of these people will receive between £30,000 and £35,000.

A plaque which stands on the former Shirley Oaks site (Image: Dave Cook)

Although the move to pay every former resident - including those who did not suffer abuse - is unprecedented, the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOSA) has critiicised how the scheme has been handled.

The group has slammed Lambeth Council's decision to oversee the redress scheme after the local authority destroyed 140 care records during the mid-1990s, despite legislation stating records must be kept for 70 years.

SOSA founder Raymond Stevenson, who himself was abused at the home as a child, is now calling for the process to be overseen by an independent third party.

In a statement sent to the council, Mr Stevenson wrote: "We are in receipt of the latest draft of the scheme and note that independent decision-making throughout the whole redress process has not been included.

"In the best of all possible worlds, one can only question why Lambeth local authority would not want an independent process given its failed investigations of the past?

Raymond Stevenson (Image: David Cook)

"Why would the local authority want to continue to jeopardise Lambeth’s reputation by obstructing our reasonable request for an independent process?

"Why would it abandon what is the prerequisite of any redress process - fairness and transparency?

"Why would it design a scheme where there is no opportunity for victims to see or comment on the local authority’s case against them or have an opportunity to make oral representations?"

He added: "What we want is for a number of skilled, independent people to be appointed as a panel to review cases individually and for cases to be reviewed by a multi-disciplinary panel of equally skilled individuals in the case of an appeal.

"We fail to see how this process is likely to add significantly to the costs or bankrupt the council."

Children playing instruments on the Shirley Oaks site (Image: Croydon Advertiser archives)

"However, I do believe that the council has done this in order to provide survivors with a much timelier and [more] effective route to redress."

She added: "I am reassured to see that a lot of thought has been given to ensure there is independence within the scheme, and that survivors have access to an independent point of contact and legal advice when making an application.

"I am also pleased to hear that survivors can take forward an independent review should they not be happy with the outcome.

"I will be carefully monitoring how this scheme works for survivors, and I am hopeful that it will provide them with a transparent, easily accessible route to compensation and will provide some form of justice for the awful abuse too many suffered."

The council added in a statement that the lack of an independent body would "give survivors swift and compassionate redress without having to go through the courts".

"By simplifying the redress process the scheme means far more of the compensation goes to survivors of abuse, rather than being taken up by legal fees," the statement added.